Cai Wenji
Cai Yan ( 177–250s), courtesy name Wenji, was a poet and musician who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. She was the daughter of Cai Yong. Her courtesy name was originally Zhaoji, but was changed to Wenji during the Jin dynasty to avoid naming taboo because the Chinese character for zhao in her courtesy name is the same as that in the name of Sima Zhao, the father of the Jin dynasty's founding emperor, Sima Yan. She spent part of her life as a captive of the Xiongnu until 200, when the warlord Cao Cao, who controlled the Han central government in the final years of the Eastern Han dynasty, paid a heavy ransom to bring her back to Han territory. Some years later she married to Hou Teng as his second wife who was prominent general politician and strategist under Cao Cao and later Chancellor of the state Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period. Life Cai Yan was the daughter of Cai Yong, a famous Eastern Han dynasty scholar from Yu County (圉縣), Chenliu Commandery (陳留郡), which is around present-day Qi County, Kaifeng, Henan. She was married to Wei Zhongdao (衛仲道) in 192 but her husband died shortly after their marriage and they did not have any children.Hans H. Frankel, "Cai Yan and the Poems Attributed to Her". Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews, Vol. 5, No. 1/2 (Jul 1983), pp. 133-156 Between 194 and 195, when China entered a period of chaos, the Xiongnu nomads intruded into Han territory, captured Cai, and took her back as a prisoner to the northern lands. During her captivity, she married the Xiongnu chieftain Liu Bao (the "Wise Prince of the Left") and bore him two sons. 6 years later, the Han Cao Cao who currently control the entire court, paid a heavy ransom in the name of Cai's father for her release. After Cai was freed, she returned to her homeland but left her children behind in Xiongnu territory. The reason Cao Cao wanted her back was that she was the sole surviving member of her clan and he needed her to placate the spirits of her ancestors.Chang, Saussy and Kwong, p. 22. This explanation, however, is not fully reconcilable with other historic records, such as the fact that Cai Wenji's father had at least two other daughters and possibly a son. (See Cai Yong.) One of the daughters was known to have mothered a few notable figures, including Yang Huiyu, an empress dowager of the Jin dynasty. If one of them was not able to placate the spirits of their ancestors, Cai Wenji would not be able to either, because females were not considered direct posterity. The reason Cao Cao gave was probably only an excuse used to convince the Han ministers to justify the ransom. After that, Cai married again, this time to Dong Si (董祀), a local government official from her hometown. However, when Dong Si committed a capital crime later, Cai pleaded with Cao Cao for her husband's acquittal. At the time, Cao Cao was hosting a banquet to entertain guests, who were stirred by Cai's distressed appearance and behaviour. She asked him if he could provide her with yet another husband. He pardoned Dong Si. In 208 Dong Si was later kill in action during the battle of the Red Cliffs leaving her window she later remarried to Hou Teng in arrange marriage by Cao Cao cited the fact that Hou Teng did not had any son with his Fist Wife Lady Xin who died in the same year six month after Dong Si's Death and would later bore him two son Hou Shao and Hou Cong and one Daughter There were many account on Cai marriage to Hou Teng it was said Hou Teng has shown a deeply infatuation toward Cai while Lady Xin was alive Hou Teng often avoid seeing Cai when Hou Teng would come across toward Cai He would immediately go to the opposite direction where Cai is after her marriage Cai would later ask why Hou Teng kelp avoiding her Hou Teng stated I was deeply infatuation toward you but I remain faithful to my first wife while she was still Alive and I would never attempt steel someone else wife and Cai deeply apprciated Hou Teng honesty and moral conduct and remained faithful toward Lady Xin before her death One other account is where Cao Cao propose to Hou Teng the arrange marriage between him and Cai Hou Teng decline the offer but Cao Cao insist Hou Teng accept it citing the fact he didn't had any son with Lady Xin Later in her life, she wrote two poems describing her turbulent years. she died in 250 a year after Hou Teng died in 249 Legacy collection of poems by female poets, 1772]] Like her father, Cai Wenji was an established calligrapher of her time, and her works were often praised along with her father's. Her poems were noted for their sorrowful tone, which paralleled her hard life. The famous guqin piece Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute is traditionally attributed to her, although the authorship is a perennial issue for scholarly debate.A large number of modern historians, including Hu Shih, disputed the traditional attribution, the earliest survival of which was by the Southern Song dynasty scholar Zhu Xi. (Guo Moruo 1987, p97.) Guo Moruo, on the other hand, wrote six articles in half a year's time in early 1959 to dispute the dispute. (Two of which were included in Guo Moruo 1987, pp 96-109.) This led to a heated debate, with both sides holding their ground, even though Guo's opinion was in the minority. Quote: "《十八拍》的讨论，备列了各类史料，虽然分歧仍然存在，但从学术研究的角度看，这样详尽地摆出史料，实事求是地进行分析，各抒己见地讨论是极为有益的，为进一步澄清《胡笳十八拍》的问题打下了良好的基础。" ((This) debate about Eighteen Songs cited historic facts of all kinds. Even though differences in opinion persist, it is extremely beneficial to list such exhaustive historic facts, to engage in factual analysis, and to express individual opinions. This laid a good foundation to further clarify the problem related to the Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute.") ( .) The other two poems, both named "Poem of Sorrow and Anger" (悲憤詩), were known to be written by her. The following is an excerpt from the "Poem of Sorrow and Anger" in five-character form (五言): In addition to her surviving poems, a volume of Collective Works of Cai Wenji was known to have survived until as late as the Sui dynasty but had been lost by the Tang dynasty. (魏徵 et al., 隋书 志第三十经籍四; c.f. Book of Sui) Quote: "後漢董祀妻《蔡文姬集》一卷，..., 亡。" (Wife of Later Han Dong Si Collective Works of Cai Wenji, one volume - dissipated.) Cai Wenji inherited some 4,000 volumes of ancient books from her father's vast collection. However, they were destroyed in the ravages of war. At Cao Cao's request, Cai recited 400 of them from memory and wrote them on paper. Her work maintain by Hou Teng and had made more then thousand of copies Fan Ye et al. (420-479). Quote: "操因问曰：“闻夫人家先多坟籍，犹能忆识之不？”文姬曰：“昔亡父赐书四千许卷，流离涂炭，罔有存者。今所诵忆，裁四百余篇耳。”...于是缮书送之，文无遗误。" (So Cao Cao asked: "I have heard that Madame's home used to host many ancient books. Can you still remember?" Wenji said: "My late father left me with some 4,000 volumes. Along with my life in displacement and turmoil, few remain. All I can recite now are but a little more than 400." ... Thus (Wenji) wrote down the books and presented them (to Cao Cao). There was no omission or error in the text.") Literary and artistic tributes and depicting Cai Wenji and her Xiongnu husband. They are riding their horses along, each holding one of their sons. The expression on Cai's face appears rather fulfilled, peaceful and content, while her husband is turning his head back in farewell (transl. by Rong Dong).]] The stories of Cai reverberate primarily with feelings of sorrow, and inspired later artists to keep portraying her past. Her return to Han territory has been the subject of numerous paintings titled Cai Wenji Returns to Her Homeland (文姬歸漢圖) by various painters since the Tang dynasty,See references in curator's notes from Taipei National Palace Museum http://www.npm.gov.tw/dm/album/selection/02/k2a001114n000000013fd.htm. According to NPM, earliest surviving pieces were from the Southern Song dynasty; this article http://baike.baidu.com/view/915733.htm points out one piece in the Jilin Provincial Museum identified as dating from the Jurchen Jin dynasty, which coexisted with the Southern Song dynasty. as well as renderings in traditional Beijing opera.